Strength in Leadership-Do You Have What It Takes?

I got this idea from a blog by Seth Godin (www.sethgodin.com) where he mentions what he thinks are characteristics of strength. I wanted to go one step further and give what I believe are strengths in leadership.

knowing humility comes through you, not from you
leadership is a privilege not a right
the P&L statement is not the clearest indication of success
creating a comfortable climate where questions are welcome
Not being afraid to apologize when you're wrong
Understanding you have two ears for listening vs. just hearing
First, look in the mirror when mistakes happen (from Good to Great)
Being able to get over yourself
Having a desire to see others get the credit
Perseverance
Not demeaning or disrespecting others to make a point
Not confusing intention with direction nor destination
Make sure others can hear "the music" when they lead and are not turned off by their "noise" which discourages

Now, give me some help. Either tell me what you think are strengths in leadership, or what are the weaknesses you observe in leadership?

Posted on Tue, October 5, 2010 by Ron Beasley filed under

Leadership,

3 comments (Add your own)

1. Ryan wrote:: Strength: Understanding your commitments & priorities and setting the correct example on how to handle them.

Weakness: Lack of understanding that other people should not do the same amount of work as you unless they are paid equally.
Wed, October 6, 2010 @ 9:37 AM
2. Kelly North wrote:: I'm only going to speak for myself

Weakness: lack of understanding that 20% of the people do 80% of the work (80/20 rule)and people's expectaions are different than mine.

Strength: knowing what my weaknesses are and working on them
Wed, October 6, 2010 @ 11:59 AM
3. Terri Lynn Cardona wrote:: Strength: Knowing that when your people are not performing or doing what you want them to do, you need to look in the mirror and ask what you need to do differently. (need to thank Ken Blanchard for bringing this to my attention earlier in my career)

Weakness: Forgetting that the best teams allow everyone to contribute to the outcome. When it becomes all about you and what you want, it's time to get traded.
Fri, October 8, 2010 @ 8:50 PM

Add a New Comment

Your Name:

Your Email/URL (Optional):

Your Comment:

Enter the code you see below:
code

Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.

Sage Concepts